Last night was a bit rough. There were high and low points of the show but definitely more low than high. I was a bit bummed but, let’s be honest, all of the shows I’ve been to lately have been amazing so it was only a matter of time before I hit a dud.
The show started with local group Avskaffa. Musically, I like these guys. They are heavy but fairly clean for a local band. Sure, they have mistakes here and there and they did have to completely restart a song after it just wasn’t sounding right but they never just flat out gave up. Even when they had to restart the last song, they apologized to the crowd and moved on. It didn’t seem to affect their high energy at all and I more than appreciated that. Even though I like this band musically, there’s something that I just can’t stand about the vocals. The singer seems to be just barking along with the music. There doesn’t seem to be much tone to his voice and, even when he was just talking in between songs, I couldn’t help but think of Strongbad the whole time. I can see why some people would be in to vocals like that but I’m just not one of them and was quickly annoyed.
Next was Krawg, a band I had never heard of before, but as soon as they introduced a song as being about self mummification, I was intrigued. Their singer had the type of intensity that made me fall in love with the metal scene. He didn’t seem to care what the crowd was doing, he was just doing what he loved and you could tell it. The crowd seemed a bit hesitant to move but, as the band neared the end of their quick set, you could feel the energy in the room rise. I only wish that they guys had played a little bit longer but I understand that on shows like this timing is everything.
Glutton For Punishment was the final local band to play last night and the one I had been wanting to see the most. I have heard nothing but good things about these guys and I just had to see it for myself. They didn’t disappoint. As soon as they took the stage and started playing their first song, the crowd erupted into a hot, sweaty mess. Glutton For Punishment’s music was clean and next to perfect. The great music mixed with the amazing energy from both the crowd and stage made for a very impressive set. With lots of chatter about this band already, after seeing them live it’s easy to see why.
The first of two touring acts to take the stage was Nile. I have always been a fan of these guys just due to the fact that they are unique and the second you hear one of their songs, there’s no questioning it’s them. Nile has this way of mixing technical death metal with traditional Egyptian undertones. They use chords and runs of notes that scream Egypt and the age of Pharoahs but, because of the heaviness of the drums and vocals, it’s sometimes hard to pick it up. Another thing that had me falling in love with these guys is the sheer speed at which they play. Being able to see these seasoned musicians up close and personal is truly a jaw dropping experience. When watching these guys play, it’s almost impossible to keep up with how fast hands and limbs are moving.
Having been around since the early 1990’s, these guys have become a staple in the death metal scene. They have toured around with some of the greatest of greats but I feel like these guys really aren’t given the attention they deserve. Out of all of the death metal bands I’ve seen, these guys are one of the few bands that I truly get excited about being able to see. Even with a couple of line-up changes through out the year and eight full length releases, these guys have stayed true to their roots and that just adds to their charm.
Finishing up the night was legendary thrash metal band, Overkill. The set times said they were going to go onstage at 9:30 but 9:30 turned to 9:35 turned to 9:40 turned to 9:45 and I had lost my interest. You could tell the stage was all set up and ready for the band but for some reason, they felt the need to make the crowd wait. Had I been there with friends, I wouldn’t have cared and could have spent the time socializing but, being alone with a dying phone, I was more than fed up and about ready to walk out the door. I was wondering what was taking the band so long to take the stage. To kill sometime, I kept on refreshing my Facebook feed and that’s when I saw some friends talking about the delay and saying that Overkill wouldn’t leave the bus until all local bands had left the backstage area. Now, I don’t know if this is true or not but, it makes sense and a veteran band acting like that wouldn’t be that out of character.
Regardless of why the delay, by the time Overkill finally hit the stage at 9:50, I had already checked out. I more than understand that the word “legendary” may be a bit of a understatement for these guys since they are one of the oldest thrash metal bands still touring and playing out. I do respect them for the contributions they’ve made in the world of thrash and metal music but, all that aside, I wasn’t feeling last night. Everything about their set felt predictable and, after a few songs, I realized that these guys have stood the test of time and their music hasn’t really changed over the years. The feeling in the venue was electric and, even though I had checked out, it was hard to not notice just how excited everyone in the crowd looked. Obviously the crowd was loving the fact that this band really hadn’t changed much over time but, for me, the music felt outdated and I just wasn’t able to get into it.
Obviously, every show I go to can’t be a winner but, even with the shows I’m not quite feeling, there are always some bright spots. I may not have walked away from the venue last night feeling like I just saw a great show but I did walk away feeling thankful that I got a chance to see all of these bands on stage.
Line Up:
Venue: The Cabooze
Sausage Fest Meter- 10 out of 10
Average Age of the Crowd- 45
Crowd Surfers- 4
Stage Divers-1
Broken Bones- 0
Fights-0
People Who Left The Venue On A Stretcher- 1– No clue what happened here
Celebrity Sightings- None
Overall Score-4 out of 10
Show on Deck- By The Thousands/ Aegaeon
February 19, 2017 at 6:53 pm
Overkill was slated to start at 10:00 according to the backstage time listings.
February 19, 2017 at 10:03 pm
For the record, the incident involving local bands backstage DID NOT involve Overkill. In fact, on top of sounding incredible, they were very cordial. One of the guitarists approached ME and chatted me up about my gear. For a nobody in a local band, that was a pretty cool moment.
February 21, 2017 at 12:09 am
I thought the first two bands were sloppy as hell. Glutton for punishment was killer and always is. I was a bit annoyed about the fact that we stood at the stage for nearly a half hour waiting for Overkill but it was the best show I have seen in along time. There was one rather large fight at the front/ center of the stage and plenty of crowd surfers during Overkill. One thing that pissed me off is a girl crowd surfed up and sat on the box right I front of the singer for a good 5/10 minutes before anyone told her to leave.. If it would have been a dude he would have been gone in a second. Overkills show in my opinion would have changed the rating from a 4 (only because glutton for punishment bumped the rating from 0..) to a fucking 10+ for sure. Yep they must have been being divas and I was pissed to wait but holy hell it was amazing! – the other girl at the metal show.